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Well it’s 9th and Hennepin 
And all the donuts have 
Names that sound like prostitutes 
And the moon’s teeth marks are 
On the sky like a tarp thrown over all this 
And the broken umbrellas like 
Dead birds and the steam 
Comes out of the grill like 
The whole goddamned town is ready to blow. 
And the bricks are all scarred with jailhouse tattoos 
And everyone is behaving like dogs. 
And the horses are coming down Violin Road 
And Dutch is dead on his feet 
And the rooms all smell like diesel 
And you take on the 
Dreams of the ones who have slept here. 
And I’m lost in the window 
I hide on the stairway 
I hang in the curtain 
I sleep in your hat 
And no one brings anything 
Small into a bar around here. 
They all started out with bad directions 
And the girls behind the counter has a tattooed tear, 
One for every year he’s away she said, such 
A crumbling beauty, but there’s 
Nothing wrong with her that 
$100 won’t fix, she has that razor sadness 
That only gets worse 
With the clang and the thunder of the 
Southern Pacific going by 
As the clock ticks out like a dripping faucet 
Till you’re full of rag water and bitters and blue ruin 
And you spill out 
Over the side to anyone who’ll listen 
And I’ve seen it 
All through the yellow windows 
Of the evening train.

It’s no surprise to me that Trent creates the best remixes of his stuff. He already does it all himself anyway. This version is cool too because I think he even changed up the lyrics. I am just loving the song as a whole!

And as with most song I love (anything for that matter), I want to share it. So here it is in all it’s glory.

Nine Inch Nails - Right Where it Belongs (Trent Reznor web remix)

See the animal in his cage that you built
Are you sure what side you’re on?
Better not look him too closely in the eye
Are you sure what side of the glass you are on?

See the safety of the life you have built
Everything where it belongs
Feel the hollowness inside of your heart
And it’s all right where it belongs

What if everything around you
Isn’t quite as it seems
What if all the world you think you know
Is an elaborate dream?

And if you look at your reflection
Is that all you want it to be?
What if you could look right through the cracks
Would you find yourself, find yourself afraid to see?

What if all the world’s inside of your head
Just creations of your own?
Your devils and your gods all the living and the dead
And you’re really all alone?

You can live in this illusion
You can choose to believe
You keep looking but you can’t find the woods
While you’re hiding in the trees

What if everything around you
Isn’t quite as it seems
What if all the world you used to know
Is an elaborate dream?

And if you look at your reflection
Is that all you want to be?
What if you could look right through the cracks
Would you find yourself, find yourself afraid to see?

From his new album “Battle Studies” slated for release on the 17th comes this Robert Johnson cover played á la Cream. This is without question a classic blues song done countless times and Mayer gives us his simple rendition of it.

Mayer’s virtuosity on guitar is often absent from his mainstream releases for, I guess, the obvious fact that it’s got to stay mainstream and likeable by everyone. So far this newest album stays true to this and is full of soft-rock classics that will certainly fill the airwaves for many a forgettable moment.

I guess I’m kind of indifferent to this new record where I wish I could be excited. I’ll just have to wait until he comes around so I can see him in his element. Until then, here’s Crossroads:

“I went down to the crossroads, fell down on my knee.
I went down to the crossroads, fell down on my knee.
Asked the Lord above for mercy, “Help me if you please.”

I went down to the crossroads, tried to flag a ride.
I went down to the crossroads, tried to flag a ride.
Nobody seemed to know me, everybody passed by.

You can run, you can run, tell my friend Willie Brown.
You can run, you can run, tell my friend Willie Brown.
And I’m standing at the crossroads, believe I’m sinking down.”

-Robert Johnson

The Half Shell Heroes - Building a Memory (Live @ Lantzville)

A few weeks ago some friends of mine played a show for our friends’ wedding. It was both a great show, and a great wedding (I’m still looking for photos). I did sound tech stuff for them, and tried my best to get a live recording of them to boot.

It didn’t work out as well as I had hoped in that I wanted to get a live feed from the audience and a live feed from the sound board, but with all the crowd being as rowdy as a wedding crowd is, I was only able to get a board feed.

All that technicality to explain that you don’t get to hear much of the drums (I only mic’d the kick. Conner is a loud enough drummer), and in a few cases not much bass guitar either.

Of all that you can hear, it sounds quite wonderful. I’m quite impressed at how nicely everything sounds. It really doesn’t sound too “live”, but this is a straight raw feed.

The song also is an original by the Half Shells. I’d say “if you like this, go support them,” but they don’t have a site or anything yet. So if you like them, I have more recordings from this wedding, and a few other sessions I’ve done with them that I can/will put on request!

Enjoy!